The present application relates generally to data communication systems. More particularly, the present invention relates to systems and methods for generating suggestions for improvement for sponsors of online websites and web pages, and to communicating such suggestions over a network, for improving user engagement with electronic advertisements communicated over a network to users.
Current online systems collect information of interest to users and make that information available to users. A system operator, such as Yahoo! Inc., makes the information available to users over computer networks. The information may be presented in one or more web pages accessed by a web browser on a user's computer, smartphone, tablet or other device over a network. The information may be accessed by use of a search engine, by hyper-linked web pages to be explored by the user, or by other means. Such information may include advertisements about products and services or possible interest to the users. An advertisement may be clicked or otherwise selected by a user to learn more about the advertised product or service.
It has been difficult to reliably gauge the interest of users in online advertisements. The click or click through itself indicates interest and click are routinely reported back to the system operator. Some advertisements invite a user to view a video or provide personal information such as an email address or to make a purchase, including providing credit card information. All of these actions, if taken by a user, provide useful information.
However, if these actions are not taken by the user, little or no information is provided to the system operator or the advertiser. No information is provided about the effectiveness or user engagement provided by the advertisement. No conclusions can be drawn about how to improve the advertisement. Even in the case of positive engagement, such as a completed purchase, no conclusions can be made about how to improve the advertisement and no suggestions about improvement can be made to the advertiser.